Tomorrow my new leaf springs should be delivered. It says by end of day, so it may be Saturday before they get installed. Once that is done I will have a "functional" cargo trailer. This has been a very long process, and honestly I would probably have been better off building from scratch, but I am nearly there. Well with the frame and wheels anyway. Just to bring everyone up to speed, I purchased a trailer made by a farmer hat had a utility truck bed mounted on it. This thing was a tank, super heavy. I started in Colorado to modify the existing build. Then I had to move to Georgia, where I stripped everything off the trailer, even the tongue, and basically ended up rebuilding the entire thing. The existing leaf springs I attempted to recondition, but after getting the rust off, many had been rusted through and were useless. I have fought with this trailer since I purchased it.

Now, thanks to a new welder, the frame is back together (including the tongue), and is waiting for the new springs to arrive so I can reattach the axle (the one really good component of this trailer). I have removed around 600-800 pound of metal (including the utility boxes) from this trailer. Once I get the new springs on I can begin work on actually building my first tear drop. (This has really been a lesson on what NOT to buy used LOL!)

I am really liking the shape of the Benroy. I think that is what is called. (This is the shape, though I am not building for offroad: https://www.moby1trailers.com/moby1-xtr) I seems to maximize space and I like the idea of a flat roof to put things in future. A cargo basket? Maybe? Maybe not, but I like the idea of having the space to use should I need it.

However, I also like the shape of the more traditional tear drop camper. The curves are great and much more a conversation piece I think. It just has ... style. I don't know, but I like it.

For design issues (of course there are issues, this whole trailer has been one after another LOL!), the size of the frame. The deck area is 4' 2 3/4" wide, and 8' 5" long. Weird I know, but I didn't build it, though I probably should have. Anyway, that's another issue entirely. So, I will probably build wider than the frame, 5 feet maybe? I have just under 6 feet between the tires, so plenty of room for 5 feet. I even considered going to 6 feet wide, but that just seems a bit much. I suppose I could cut 5 inches from the rear of the frame and move the cross member forward. This would effectively push the axle back 5 inches, it nearly centered to the deck now. Or, I could add a cross member close to the back, giving me a step, or other platform for future use, but that would push the kitchen farther away, so maybe not. Once I get the springs back on the mounts I will have a more accurate measurement.

So I guess my real questions are: 1) Is it safe to assume a roughly 5 inch overhang on either side won't be an issue should I build out to 5 feet wide? 2) Should I shorten the deck length for an easier build? 3) What are the pros and cons of Benroy vs a more traditional shape? Are their any real differences besides style?

So try to sound lie I am rambling. The problem with having so many choices, is having so many choices. Any advice or comments are more than welcome. Thank you reading.

Six inches between side wall and inside of tire sounds like a lot to me. Depending on axle rating there are limitations to how far the spring center should be from the hub face, elsewise the cantilever effect of the load becomes significant. Dexter calls this "overhang". On their 1000-2200 lb straight axles it is typically about 7-5/8" max. On 3000-3500 lb straight axles it is 11-1/2 inch max. It goes down for drop spindles and they derate load capacity for larger overhangs.

I realize that yours is probably a very heavy axle, probably not Dexter, but it is something to be aware of. Also, fitting fenders and having it look gawky are other considerations.

Last edited by KCStudly on Fri Feb 24, 2017 9:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I got the axle reattached today! After putting everything together, the tires are 62" inside wall to inside wall. If I go out to 5 feet that will only leave 1 inch of clearance between the trailer wall and the tire. In that enough?

Also, the new springs from etrailer.com are only 4 springs vs the 7 that were on the old springs, so it sits quite a bit lower, witch I actually like. The axle is a 4" drop axle that as near as I can tell is (should be?) rated for 2000 pounds, the springs are rated for 3000 pounds (It was the only 27 inch springs I could find). The original trailer was just over 1000 pounds empty. It really was a tank, the cargo boxes alone were well over 100 pounds each. Looking at the spring tabs on the axle, there really is no way to mount the spring any farther out, even if I had a wider trailer. Any farther and I would worry about being to close to the bend for the drop in the axle.

RubberGypsy wrote:My rebuild is very close to this, the only thing I don't let is the lack of room for a traditional size cooler in the back. I thought maybe I'd build a custom cooler right into the galley..?